To recap, Osaka prefectural police on September 24 raided strip club Juso Music for providing customers with sexual services.

Kazuo Saito, 46, the manager of the club, was among 12 employees taken into custody for allowing customers to pay for separate sexual services as dispensed by female dancers in a private room — a violation of the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses. Saito has reportedly admitted to the allegations.

Juso Music (on Twitter and Facebook), located in the Juso area of Yodogawa Ward, charges 6,000 yen for entry, with 2,000-yen discounts being available to students, seniors, and handicapped patrons. Additional “dance tickets” could be purchased for 1,000 yen. Five tickets allow customers to enter the private room for a 10-minute period.

“Typically strip clubs focus on AV (adult video) actresses or professional dancers,” says a writer covering the sex trade. “But this place was was known for having amateur girls in the private rooms. They attracted quite a few well-known secret admirers.”

Dancers also removed their underpants if a customer purchased a separate 200-yen ticket. Officers slapped nine performers, aged between 22 and 42, with additional charges for violating public decency laws.

The tabloid says that up to this point Juso Music had been cited previously for allowing the dancers to be touched by customers. The full exposure of genitals was what resulted in this latest raid.

A police officer related to the investigation says the motivation was the “intolerable” situation that existed in the club. Yet Shukan Jitsuwa notes that such services being administered in separate areas of clubs has been standard practice at Kansai strip joints for some time.

“It is rumored that (mayor Toru) Hashimoto instigated this,” a restaurant owner in Juso is quoted by the weekly.

A local writer says that the brash and outspoken Hashimoto lived in nearby Higashi Yodogawa and was a student at the Kitano High School. “We know he knew how to play,” says the source. “So it is safe to assume that he knows this area.”

The mayor indeed has a reputation for sexual antics. In the July 26 issue of Shukan Bunshun, an article described the mayor’s extra-marital affair with a hostess in 2006 — a report that Hashimoto admitted was mostly true, including the claims that he likes women who dress in costumes.

The aforementioned journalist believes that Hashimoto is targeting this area first since his local knowledge runs deep. “The rumors are that adult-entertainment establishments are to be moved toward Kansai International Airport and the Ferry Terminal,” says the source. “So the existing places elsewhere have got to go.”

Speculation is that Hashimoto is using the Juso area as an initial trial. “The reaction of the existing adult-entertainment clubs will then be watched,” says the writer. (K.N.)

Note: Brief extracts from Japanese vernacular media in the public domain that appear here were translated and summarized under the principle of “fair use.” Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the translations. However, we are not responsible for the veracity of their contents. The activities of individuals described herein should not be construed as “typical” behavior of Japanese people nor reflect the intention to portray the country in a negative manner. Our sole aim is to provide examples of various types of reading matter enjoyed by Japanese.